As a new member to the club I was very nervous and excited for the feedback night. I’ve never been to anything like it and it was a brilliant experience. We were instructed to hand in four copies of work that didn’t have our name on it to Rhona and Dorothy, who placed it under a number from one to six. Then we were given a different number and allocated to a group of four, this allowed us all to have our work analysed anonymously without the risk of having to review our own work. This meant that we would be given plenty of constructive feedback and we had no need to worry about having to review our own work
After everything was explained that we were to give positive and constructive criticism, everybody’s work was handed out and everyone was silent as we all read the writing in front of us, eventually the mumbled discussion of what we thought of the work began to occur. With one of us writing down what we all agreed on and perhaps a question or two was asked to ourselves, time flew by and soon enough it was time for a break.
During the break a number of the members went to the book stall, where it was only £1 for a book! There was a good variety within the books from; self-editing books, to crime novels to smoothie recipes. The variation meant there was literally something there for everyone. Those who weren’t browsing books or drinking tea were most likely submitting their entry to the novel writing competition.
After the break the groups took turns reading out the title of a piece of work and giving verbal feedback on it, occasionally reading out a passage or two from particularly good pieces or asking questions to the unknown writer. After each group read out their feedback the writer of the title was given the opportunity to reveal themselves. Everyone did and everyone was given a round of applause.
Overall there was a brilliant variety of poetry, short stories and even a few pages of a novel or two. Everyone was very positive and gave the best advice they could. It was a night filled with positivity and helpful information for each writer. These nights allow you to get real honest feedback from other members. The feeling you get when you receive the feedback is indescribable, it’s amazing. If you didn’t submit is time, why not submit next time? Your work is in trusted hands.